Abstract
The phenomenon of yellow sand (dust clouds) occurred in Korea during the spring of 1993 and 1994 is studied in detail. In total 6 cases including 15 days of yellow sand were observed in 1993 and the annual number of these events was found to increased. Examinations in this study include meteorological charts satellite imagery, pilot reports (PIREP) of Korea Air Force, and air concentrations of total suspended particulates(TSP). We present on estimation of total atmospheric loadings based on the observation and theory. According to the PIREP, in general the dust clouds travelled in the lower troposphere up to the level 5km. The visibility within the clouds was in the range of 3-8km The area covered by yellow sand in an event exceeded 0.4 M $\textrm{km}^2$ . According to trajectory analyses, dust clouds invaded Korea in April and May 1993 were landed in the sink area after 2~4 days travelling for 2,000~3,000km from a source region. Estimates of total atmospheric loadings of a dust cloud for April 23~24 in 1993 were 1.5 M ton. In addition, 7 dust storms were also reported in synoptic observations in NW China and Mongolia during the spring in 1994. The yellow sand was not reported with meteorological observations in Korea, however pilots reported significant dust clouds over the Yellow Sea on 8 and 13 April and 20 May 1994.
